


Second Lesson

by Leaves_Crown



Category: Free!
Genre: Friendship, Getting Together, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-14 10:56:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13006311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leaves_Crown/pseuds/Leaves_Crown
Summary: Sousuke wants to leave when he finds out the guy he's tutoring is Nanase Haruka. When Haru wants him to stay anyway, Sousuke enjoys his company more than he had expected.





	Second Lesson

“You don’t have to stick with me,” Sousuke said. He looked at the book Haru had put down on the table. Once before he had used it when teaching English, but to tutor a middle schooler, not a university student like Haru.

Haru shrugged and Sousuke felt a pang of annoyance. When his agency had asked him to tutor a fellow student, he had not expected it to be Nanase Haruka of all people. They had asked if eight o’clock on a Wednesday evening suited him, but neglected to pass on the name. As usual, he had chosen this coffee place for a first meeting. It was mostly used for studying, though it was quiet during the winter break, since many students had left Tokyo to spend time with their families. When Sousuke walked in and realized who had been waiting for him, he had felt like he was being pranked.

Sousuke picked up his bag with groceries and stood up. “When you tell the agency you want another tutor, I would appreciate it if you don’t badmouth me. I have a five star review average and would like to keep it that way.”

“I don’t want another tutor,” Haru said. “I want you.”

“Why?” Sousuke asked, baffled.

“You have a five star review rating,” Haru said simply.

Sousuke sank back down in his chair.

“Would you like something to drink?” Haru asked.

“I’ll ask for a coffee when they come by. You?”

Haru nodded at the glass of water.

“So, would you like to study from the book?” Sousuke asked, not really feeling like it. It was not his favourite study-book and he wondered why Haru was at such a low level anyway.

“Rin said you spoke English with him,” Haru said.

“Yes. He suggested it to help me practice for my entrance exams. I’ve kept it up since then.”

“Okay, so speak English to me. I want to learn spoken English. Not from a book.”

The waiter came by and Sousuke ordered an Americano, before focusing on Haru again. He looked at Sousuke with his blue eyes and expressionless face.

“Sure,” Sousuke said, switching to English. “Do you come here often?”

“No.”

“You’ve never been here or just not often?” Sousuke asked.

“No… not much.”

This was going to be the hardest lesson he had ever given.

“So, you have never been here?” he asked patiently.

“No.”

“Do you like it here?” The moment he asked, Sousuke cursed himself for asking another closed question and braced himself for another ‘no’.

“Yes.”

“Why?” Perhaps he shouldn’t feel so proud of himself for asking that simple question, but at least Haru had to say something that wasn’t yes or no.

Haru touched his glass. “I like water.”

“You like drinking water?”

“Yes.”

“Can you make your sentence a bit longer? Just say: Yes, I like drinking water.”

“Yes, I like drinking water.”

Something moved in Haru’s eyes. Perhaps he was… ah yes, he was proud of himself for saying even that. Sousuke smiled and wondered what Rin would say of this encounter.

Haru looked at him expectedly and Sousuke realized he wanted help saying more.

“So, eh… why would you like to improve your English?”

“Imp-rove?”

“Make better.”

“…I want…when I swim…I want to know what coach say.”

“You want to know what your coach says?” Sousuke asked.

“Yes.” Haru met his eyes. “I want to know what my coach says, so I want improve my English.”

His Americano was being served, so Sousuke nodded at the water and took a sip of the hot liquid. “So you want to improve your English.”

“To improve, yes.”

“Good, you’re learning.” He was a bit surprised by how quickly Haru was catching on and improving on what he had said before. Perhaps his English teacher at high school had not been great at teaching someone as peculiar as him and he just needed someone who took his time helping him.

“You like coffee?” Haru asked.

“I do. I drink about seven cups every day.”

Haru’s eyes widened. “Can you sleep?”

Sousuke laughed. “Yes, despite all the caffeine, I can.”

He wasn’t sure if Haru understood what he had said. There was no smile, but he also didn’t look puzzled.

“You don’t drink coffee then?”

“No. I drink before.” Haru answered.

“You drank coffee before?” Sousuke asked.

“Yes, I drank it before, but I can’t sleep when I drink coffee.”

“I see.”

“No mistake?” Haru asked.

“No, that sentence was fine.”

Again those eyes lit up a little. Apparently, Haru was not as devoid of emotion as he had once thought. Without realizing it himself, Sousuke wanted him to be happy with his own progress again.

“Do you like movies?” Sousuke asked.

“Yes.” Haru looked at him, knowing Sousuke wanted to hear more. “I see Free Willy on… Saturday.”

“You saw it on Saturday.”

“Yes, I saw…it.”

Sousuke finished his Americano. “I would have thought you would have seen it many times.”

Haru looked a bit confused, and Sousuke realized he should have used a less complicated sentence. Right when he was going to reform it, Haru’s mouth opened.

“I saw it many times. Maybe twenty.”

“That’s a lot,” Sousuke agreed. “I never watched it.”

Haru looked so surprised that Sousuke had to suppress a smile. It was like he had told Haru he had never seen a cat.

“I like horror movies sometimes. Scary movies,” Sousuke said.

“Makoto does not like, so I don’t watch.”

“You don’t watch them because Makoto doesn’t like them? That’s considerate of you.”

“Considerate…what mean?” Haru asked, leaning closer.

“It means that you’re nice.”

The moment he had said that, Sousuke was surprised at himself. He had just called Nanase Haruka nice. Haru was still leaning closer, eyes focused on him as if he expected Sousuke to teach him perfect English in one evening. It made him sit upright. He didn’t want to fail in this.

“You like swimming, right?”

“Yes, I like swimming.”

“When is your next tournament?” Sousuke asked.

“Spring.” Haru paused for a moment. “April.”

“Still a while, but you’re training?”

“And I study... at university”

Sousuke hadn’t known he had taken up a major as well. “What do you study?”

“Biology.”

“Oh you…ah of course. You want to study marine animals. Animals from the sea.”

“Yes, I want,” Haru said.

“I do.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Why?”

“I want to help animals in the sea. The sea is dirty. Too many trash.”

“Too much,” Sousuke said automatically.

“Too much trash in the sea.”

“You’re right.” Sousuke was a little surprised. He had often thought of Haru as someone who didn’t care about much beyond swimming and maybe his friends. “I didn’t know you cared.”

Haru frowned and Sousuke realized he had said that out loud.

“I care.” Haru’s gaze fell on the plastic bag Sousuke had been carrying. “Too much plastic. Turtles die and birds.”

He somehow couldn’t meet Haru’s eyes. “Ah…yes.”

“I like reusable bag. I learn this word yesterday, from dictionary.”

Sousuke nodded, forgetting to correct his grammar. He felt a bit ashamed, for he knew he often carelessly used plastic bags and threw them away.

“I pay you now?”

“What?” Sousuke asked.

“For class. I pay now?”

“That’s all right. This was just a chat, so you can decide if you like me as a tutor.”

“I say…said already I want you be my tutor.”

“Well, if you want me to be your tutor, that’s cool. Just pay from the next lesson.”

“Okay.” Haru stood up and put on his coat without zipping it closed. “Bye.”

And before Sousuke knew what happened, Haru had put money for his water on the table and walked to the door.

“Wait,” Sousuke let out, switching to Japanese. “I need your number.”

“I have yours. I will text you.”

Haru walked off without another word. Sousuke sat back in his chair. This was the strangest thing that had happened to him for a while, but it had also been more enjoyable than he had expected.

Strangely enough, he hoped Haru would text him soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I leave this as a one-shot for now, but might continue this later.  
> It was fun writing this, as I had no interest in this pairing until recently.


End file.
